Trexquant Investment LP Grows Position in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Trexquant Investment LP increased its holdings in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 48,924 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 2,581 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP's holdings in Allstate were worth $9,432,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Allstate by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,419,728 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,236,060,000 after purchasing an additional 191,147 shares during the period. Nemes Rush Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Allstate by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 57,317 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $11,050,000 after buying an additional 4,155 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Allstate by 38.6% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 195,159 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $37,625,000 after acquiring an additional 54,396 shares during the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Allstate by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 33,437 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $6,334,000 after purchasing an additional 1,323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Allstate by 80.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 246,770 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $47,575,000 after acquiring an additional 110,138 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.47% of the company's stock.

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Allstate Stock Performance

NYSE ALL traded down $7.74 on Monday, hitting $178.83. 1,387,241 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,590,149. The firm has a market cap of $47.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.36. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $197.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $194.38. The Allstate Co. has a fifty-two week low of $156.66 and a fifty-two week high of $212.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.40 by $2.27. Allstate had a return on equity of 28.20% and a net margin of 7.28%. On average, research analysts expect that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current year.

Allstate announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to purchase up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. This is a boost from Allstate's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Allstate's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.54%.

Insider Transactions at Allstate

In related news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.53, for a total value of $7,480,226.06. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,115 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,378,990.95. This represents a 68.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI upgraded Allstate from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays decreased their price target on Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Allstate from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $219.80.

About Allstate

The Allstate Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides property and casualty, and other insurance products in the United States and Canada. It operates in five segments: Allstate Protection; Protection Services; Allstate Health and Benefits; Run-off Property-Liability; and Corporate and Other segments.